A little more on race

I teach a college class on race in American history periodically. Growing up believing that the arc of history truly does bend toward justice I had long believed we marched a steady beat toward racial equality.  But race’s dimensions are insidious. Each time I teach the American history survey, I take a theme from current events and find a monograph to assign, designing my course around this them. Last year, in the wake of our very public discussion of race, I chose Race and Reunion: The Civil War in AmericanMemory by David Blight. I have long believed our Nineteenth Century Civil War holds many lessons for what ills our polity not the least of which is a greater understanding of the role of race in America. This week, the New York Times published a fantastic synthesis of how race has permeated us revealing the social construct as tool of capital’s domination more than a product of bigotry. I’ll retweet it @brucelawcali.

This year we’re reading Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed by Lisa Duggan. I thought it time for a little pushback against the authoritarian’s mythology. But the more I thought about political theories the more race returned to the picture. Us against them Mr. Roark. At the end of the day, race is just one made-up distinction without any difference used as a tool to classify, make different, demonize and subjugate. This is what we do as humans. Then, now, and unless we care not to, forever.

Unfortunately, at The Bruce Law Firm we see race in action every day. Make sure your rights are protected. Always.